A MADE TO LIVE IN LIVING ROOM

A family home gets messy. There’s toys, sleepovers, snacks, crazy schedules, wild kids, holidays and too much laundry. The living room should be the go-to spot for families to gather, talk, relax, and play. It is often the focal point and one of the largest areas of a home. A family friendly living room should be three things: neutral, functional, and cozy.

Neutral because it is a place for the whole family so it needs to represent everyone. Another reason I chose neutral as a criteria is because the living room often gets decorated throughout the seasons and holidays so having a neutral space allows you to get creative.

A family living room should be functional because it is meant to accommodate both kids and adults. It doesn’t make sense to have a white couch, a fully stocked bar cart, and sharp corners everywhere you turn with a house full of toddlers, right? Right. So functional means–room for everyone–(plus–some),–easy–to–clean,–not bulky and lots of storage space.

Lastly, a family living room should be cozy to accommodate all those precious, messy moments that will be made there. Oh, did I mention that everything I picked for this room is from one store: Anthropologie! Why Anthro? Because it’s the bomb-dot-com, a unique one-stop-shop, and their store is like a magical wonderland you never want to leave, making shopping there even easier.

If

your family has younger (aka messier) kids, then opt for a couch in a darker color and easy to clean fabric. I chose this navy linen sectional couch so it has plenty of room for the whole fam to cuddle up for movie night, your kids can have friends over, you can have your friends over(!), and you wont fret over whatever ends up spilling on it.

I

really wanted this rug to be the focal piece for this room. It’s a neutral color but not one bit boring. The knotted base topped with softer than soft flokati in a criss cross pattern adds texture to the room and feels like a dream on your feet!!! Navy and tan are a classic color combo which makes accessorizing really easy. Family rooms usually get decorated with the seasons so keeping neutral colors let’s you have fun with that.

Since

the rug is the statement piece for this room, I skipped out on the coffee table and added these side tables to each end of the couch so there’s still table space for the family to use. I love these side tables because…MARBLE! There are still adults around which the marble top reminds you of, and the reclaimed wood legs keep up the natural and neutral feel of the room. Also, these are big enough to fit a lamp, some books, and a couple of sippy cups, yours or your kids

Remember,

this is a hustling bustling, always running around family. I didn’t want someone to trip over a bulky floor lamp! This slim and simple, and might I add, sexy, floor lamp is big enough to serve its purpose but sized perfectly to stay out of the way. Gold also looks great with navy……and pink, green, blue, black, you get the point. The matching table lamps are the for the aforementioned amazing marble side tables. Super slim as well, space friendly, family friendly.

Behind

the couch I put this 10-tier shelf to house your family’s book collection, treasured accent pieces, a few photos, ya know, family stuff. Even more fun, these shelves are adjustable so you can arrange them to your needs. This is a really simple piece that allows you to display everything that represents your family.

To

add some color and coziness to the room, I chose these throw blankets to have laying on the couch so you can easily grab one when you need it. These are great for cozying up on movie nights, making forts, or as extra blankets for sleepovers.

A

little more color is added with these fun pillows. One adds texture while the other adds a little glam with its metallic finish. I like larger pillows so they can have more than one purpose, think about those sleepovers or movie nights I was talking about

Opposite

of the couch is the Queen’s throne, so this one is for all you moms! Envision drinking your coffee in the morning, reading your guilty pleasure magazines, closing your eyes for a few minutes (yes, that is allowed) to let your DIY beauty mask sink in. Just a little glam corner for mom to watch the chaos happening and not give a shit… because we deserve it! Also, its pink! But not like pink, pink, but a family pink :).

Next

to that glam and sexy throne we were just talking about, is this geometric patterned buffet table to house that TV you binge watch Netflix on. This piece is all about storage space. There’s plenty of room to hold game consoles, toys, books, dvd players, or whatever else you want to stuff in there! The neutral color sticks with our neutral color palette but is spiced up by the wood tiles being arranged in a geometric pattern.

We

all need a spot to throw everything right? Well these baskets serve that purpose in this family room. Place the bamboo baskets by the couch or in a corner for throw blankets, toys, extra pillows. Place the wire ones on the buffet table, side tables, or bookshelf to hold remotes, books, coasters, cards, or anything really. I love both of these options because they come in a set of 3, all varying sizes, and can be used in other rooms in addition to the living room.